1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a patterned magnetic medium, a magnetic recording medium and a magnetic storage device.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a recording medium for a calculator and the like, a magnetic recording medium such as a hard disk has heretofore been in heavy usage. Also as a recording medium for a home appliance, a portable telephone and the like, a magnetic recording medium having a large recording capacity has recently attracted attention. The heavy usage of such a magnetic recording medium has increased the needs for a magnetic recording medium which enables recording with small power consumption. Moreover, as to the magnetic recording medium, surface recording density has heretofore been improved. However, for a downsizing, an even more dramatic increase in a recording capacity and the like, further improvement in the surface recording density has been demanded. As a candidate for the magnetic recording medium that can realize such significant improvement in the surface recording density, there has been proposed a magnetic recording medium having a recording layer formed to have a concavo-convex pattern, such as a patterned magnetic medium (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2005-122876).